Q. My Letting Agent tells me he has Client
Money Protection. What does that mean?
A. It means that, should the agent
misappropriate your rent, deposit or other client funds, then we
will consider a grant from the CMP scheme to compensate you.
Q. Are there any
limits to this cover?
A. NFOPP through their scheme will compensate a
landlord, tenant or other client up to a limit of £25,000.
However, landlords are limited to a maximum of 3 months rent. The
total payable in respect of a member company would be £500,000. In
any one year the scheme has a limit of £3million.
Q. How do I make
a claim?
A. All you are
required to do in the first instance is contact the Regulation
Department by e-mailing regulation@nfopp.co.uk
Q. What will
happen next?
A. You will be asked for evidence of your claim
to be submitted, in writing with details of the claim along with
supporting evidence. Evidence of a tenant's deposit for example
could be a tenancy agreement and a deposit protection certificate,
if appropriate. Evidence from a landlord claiming rent had been
paid but not passed on would be a bank statement from a tenant
showing payment to the agent along with your own bank statements
showing previous payment made and stopping to match the tenant's
statements. This is not an exclusive list of supporting
documents.
Q. Will I need
to be able to prove fraud?
A. No. You only require proof that you have not
received monies to which you were legally entitled.
Q. Can I check
that my agent's claim of belonging to the Client Money Protection
Scheme is genuine?
A. Go to www.arla.co.uk or www.naea.co.uk and
carry out a search under the find a member section or e-mail
regulation@nfopp.co.uk
Q. How long will
my claim take?
A. This will depend on the information you
provide us with and the circumstances of the claim. It might even
require liaison with an administrator, receiver or liquidator
appointed to wind up the agent's business. NFOPP will endeavour to
get this completed as quickly as possible but it is not always
within their control. Prompt responses from claimants, for further
information, assist this process.
Q. My Agent
claims he has spent my rent upgrading my property. Is this
possible?
A. This is possible depending on your Terms and
Conditions of Business with your agent, but you should be provided
with copies of the appropriate receipts by the agent.
Q. My agent
tells me the landlord is claiming my deposit for damages. Is this
covered?
A. In the first
instance you should contact the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme
with which your deposit is registered to check what they think is
the current status of your deposit.
Q. My agent uses a third party company to
collect the rent and to hold the tenancy deposit; am I covered?
A. In these circumstances there may be no
cover for that money under the Client Money Protection Scheme. You
will need to make further enquiries to regulation@nfopp.co.uk.
Q. Is there a time limit for making a
claim?
A. Yes, claimants must file a claim with
NFOPP within a period of 12 months from the date of notification of
the misappropriation occurring.